Alberta’s upcoming referendum question on separation was made official Thursday, and it mirrors what Premier Danielle Smith announced last week.
Smith and her cabinet issued an order in council confirming the date and format of the Oct. 19 referendum, along with the question.
It will ask voters to pick one of two options.
Option one reads: “Alberta should remain a province of Canada.”
Option two reads: “The Government of Alberta should commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada.”
The cabinet order also confirms, as Smith has stated, that the fall vote will not be binding.
Mail-in ballots will not be allowed.
Smith has said she considers the threshold for a majority to be 50 per cent plus one and that she will respect the result.
It is one of 10 questions that will be put to Albertans that day. The other nine, announced in February, deal with questions on immigration policy and constitutional concerns.
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Elections officials confirmed Thursday that the referendum question will be the first in a stack of unique colour-coded ballots for each of the 10 questions.
A spokesperson for the agency said voters will be free to mark an X or leave any given question blank.
“As with any election, an elector may refuse any or all ballots at the voting station,” said Michelle Gurney in a statement.
Gurney said that up to 38 million printed ballots will be required for the vote.
“This will require 60,000 to 90,000 election officers to administer and count the referendum,” she said.
If the staffing level needed is at the higher end of the range, it would be enough to almost fill Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium twice over.
The last provincial general election in 2023 cost taxpayers $37 million, but only required about 13,000 election officials.
The ballots this fall must be hand counted within 48 hours, provincial law indicates, and the question on whether to hold a binding separation referendum will be counted first.
Smith’s decision to call the question has drawn ire from some of her provincial counterparts, as well as some petitioners on both sides of the debate who characterized her handling of the issue as a betrayal.
She has said she shares past frustrations about the federal government, but aims to test the waters of public opinion. Smith has said she and her United Conservative Party want to remain in Canada, and that she will vote accordingly.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said earlier this week the “question about a question” does not invoke the federal Clarity Act, which allows
Parliament to weigh in on separation questions, because Alberta’s fall vote is explicitly non-binding.
Good, now its up to the voters of Alberta to settle the question for real!
@nah
So which are you? Queer or disabled?
Why is the word Lie-beral not allowed lol
You can tell who they vote for by how angry they are at letting people have a democratic discussion someone below threated to murder people like that’s crazy behavior and has no place in Alberta.
IT’S TIME ALBERTA TO LEAVE CARNEYS CORRUPTED CANADA FOR OUR CHILDRENS FUTURE
if this province separates then queer and disabled people should be allowed to murder bigots to defend ourselves without legal consequences and piss on their graves
They will never be able to separate. The so called natives won’t allow it as they lay claim to all of Alberta and Canada.
Good luck getting around these parasites.
liberal supports sure like to grab their ankles, bend over and take one for the team.. there is no other reason to support a government that destroying Canada, turning it into a third world s**t hole
Funny how Smith the traitor had to make the No way more complicated then the yes to trick people. Such a Trump cocksucker she is
Yes
Question #1:
As an Albertan, do you trust ucp govt is working for Albertans, Yes or No?
There should be a 3rd question on the October referendum and that is Should Alberta stop making Equalization payments to Ottawa? Apparently there is no law stating that it’s mandatory. B.C., Alberta and Sask. do not benefit from these payments.
Let’s vote to dump this tire-fire!